Guns and loads for whitetails

The opening day of the firearm deer season is coming up fast, the traditional Nov. 15, and many a hunter will wonder if it is time for a new gun or a different gun.

Some will want to move up to a better gun and some will want to make a change in the bore, hence a new gun. After all, there have been a lot of changes in guns in the last few decades and we want to take advantage of them, don't we? Well, actually, there haven't been many changes and deer guns are pretty much unchanged from 50 years ago. Let's examine those few changes that have come about.

Many guns are now offered with synthetic stocks and this is a modest improvement of sorts. The synthetics are relatively impervious to weather and moisture and they can be had in flat black or camo patterns. While some hunters do select the synthetic stock, many prefer the traditional fine wood stock, complete with checkering and a lovely lustrous finish on the walnut, and this preference seems to be most common on better grade firearms.

Advertisement

A number of good guns are now available in stainless steel. Some hunters like this because the gun won't rust. Actually, the gun will rust. The steel that must be used in guns can't be the really hard stuff that totally resists rust so the metal is still subject to corrosion, although much less so that blued steel. My nephew elected to buy his Browning A-Bolt in stainless and then decided that it was too bright, so he promptly went out and bought a sock to cover it up.

There are a number of new cartridges on the market now, most notably the short magnums. Do they offer better performance then the old cartridges? No, just a shorter action and thus a shorter, easier-to-handle gun. The difference, however, may be less than an inch, hardly enough to scrap old Betsy. While I haven't seen any recent research on the topic, I would speculate that the distribution of ammo sales by cartridge doesn't look much different now than it would have 40 years ago. There are lots of folks still using their 30-30's and people are still buying new rifles in that bore.

My own rifle will demonstrate the lack of change in guns for deer. It is a Mannlicher Model 1952. It was made over 50 years ago and I bought it new and have used it and no other rifle ever since. It has accounted for a couple of moose, a couple of bear, countless deer and a snowshoe hare. It has a sweet bolt action, that slick rotary magazine and a handsome walnut stock. I refinished the stock some years ago so it looks pretty good, considering all the lumps and bumps it has gone through. It is bored for the 270 Winchester cartridge and scoped with a four-power Leupold scope and it is absolutely state-of-the-art, after all those years.

After thinking about the urge to upgrade the deer rifle, many hunters conclude that they really should stick to their old gun. The best reason to do that is simply the familiarity with the old gun. If it comes naturally to your cheek and the action responds easily to your touch, it is because you have done that countless times before and one reason it shoots well for you is because you have gone to the range before going to the woods every year for a decade or two and you have become very familiar with this gun. That makes you a better shot and the gun a faithful performer. Are you going to do that well with a gun that is new to you?

One gun that is often overlooked as a deer gun is the shotgun. For most of us, this is the gun we use the most and some hunters use the same gun for upland birds, waterfowl and even for trap, skeet and sporting clays. If that is the case, that hunter would be better off to take to the woods with that old friend of a shotgun and forget about a rifle. And the shotgun is one sort of gun that has had some recent important developments.

You can buy a rifled slug barrel for many shotguns now and that barrel can be fitted with a scope mount and a nice glass. With a short slug barrel, a sling and a scope, a shotgun is a great deer gun, especially well suited for hunting in Michigan's brush and woods. You really don't need a long-range tack-driver or a powerful scope for the 40-60 yard shots that are common in Michigan. Without a scope, the shotgun is a great gun for those quick shots you might get while stalking or driving deer.

I can remember at least two deer I took in New York with my Browning A-5, on the run, and I wouldn't even have tried them with my scoped rifle. New York, like Michigan, only permits shotguns in some of the southern counties. The shotgun, especially in 12 gauge, delivers a real wallop with that slug and it will put a big buck down quickly, even with a less-than-perfect hit. Once again, the best reason to take to the woods with your shotgun might just be that is so familiar in your hands that you know you will do well with it.

Many hunters will mull over the possibility of investing in a new gun this year, again, and decide to take to the woods with the old and trusted friend.